Yes, dear readers, that is the sound of me stomping all over our carbon-depleted planet, with my outsize carbon boots on. I calculated my carbon footprint here and was a little shocked to discover that the total CO2 emitted by our household, for the year, is a whopping 16.25 tonnes. To put that in context, the UK national average is 10.22 tonnes per year. (Source: Direct Gov Act on CO2.) What have we been doing? Doing the school run via Lear Jet?!?*
Well, as it turns out, aeroplane usage did rather contribute. Last year we flew to the USA to visit Mr Ruby's brother and family and Mr Ruby has notched up a few business flights lately. Also, since our fridge and freezer are over 12 years old and I own a tumble dryer (which I rarely use, by the way!) we are apparently not very green: barely chartreuse, in fact. Initially I felt quite put out about this: after all, is there really any serious eco sense in discarding a working fridge, just to buy a new, A-rated appliance, what with all the implications of disposal and manufacturing, etc.? Surely not! However, once I'd got over feeling persecuted by a faceless entity, I decided to give some serious thought to reducing my 16.25 tonne footprint into something a little more svelte and sexy... but what, exactly?
* Actually I usually walk there and back.
Well, as it turns out, aeroplane usage did rather contribute. Last year we flew to the USA to visit Mr Ruby's brother and family and Mr Ruby has notched up a few business flights lately. Also, since our fridge and freezer are over 12 years old and I own a tumble dryer (which I rarely use, by the way!) we are apparently not very green: barely chartreuse, in fact. Initially I felt quite put out about this: after all, is there really any serious eco sense in discarding a working fridge, just to buy a new, A-rated appliance, what with all the implications of disposal and manufacturing, etc.? Surely not! However, once I'd got over feeling persecuted by a faceless entity, I decided to give some serious thought to reducing my 16.25 tonne footprint into something a little more svelte and sexy... but what, exactly?
* Actually I usually walk there and back.
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